VCC News

Written by Sable Alonso

One of the biggest factors that has pushed the development of electric vehicles (EVs) is the environmental impacts of gas-powered vehicles. It’s a well-known fact that gas vehicles release CO2, a harmful emission that impacts a multitude of environmental factors, among other pollutants. The ecological damages caused by gas-powered vehicles go even further beyond emissions during operation; the extraction processes for oil and fracking for gasses cause devastating effects on the world’s oceans, air, and land, oftentimes impacting human health as fracking pads contaminate residential water tables. Between the world’s dependence on individual transportation, and the mounting need for action as climate change and the fossil fuel industry endangers millions, many places are looking towards EVs as a solution. Some are hesitant to adopt this newer technology due to the impacts of mining and manufacturing EVs, but research shows that EV development is a much better means for supplying the world with its transportation needs than gasoline power.

The Big Issues: Mining and Manufacturing

The controversy begins at the very beginning of an EV battery’s life cycle- mining and manufacturing. Mining has a long-standing reputation as being devastating to a landscape’s ecology, contributing to pollution and environmental damages, with current and historical roots in exploitative labor practices, displacement, and lax regulations. However, this is not an EV-only problem; fossil fuel extraction has engaged in such mining practices for decades.

So aren’t they both bad for the environment? Why is mining for EV battery materials better than fossil fuel mining? Strictly speaking, yes, all forms of mining are bad for the environment. However, mining has become an important art of the global economy, as mined materials are within almost every product, especially where vehicles and transportation are concerned. Mining is necessary for society because of our dependence on it, but the way we go about mining doesn’t have to be so harmful to our planet. This is where EVs trump gasoline-powered vehicles in mining. Political scientist Thea Riofrancos explains the argument that mining for EV batteries are far better for the environment than mining for fossil fuels because “A traditional car needs mining every day, needs mining every time it’s used. It needs the whole extraction complex of fossil fuels in order to power it” (Domonoske, NPR). Furthermore, EV batteries are recyclable.

The Future of Mining for EV Materials & Battery Recycling

The EV industry isn’t staying stagnant about its mining and manufacturing issues. More and more regulatory frameworks, ethical sourcing practices, and technological advances are being made to minimize the damages caused by battery mining and production. Some of these advancements in the realm of human rights and health include geographically shifted mining, a practice that moves mining operations to countries with stricter environmental and labor standards. Another advancement uses alternative battery chemistries like lithium iron phosphate (LFP) that don’t require materials like cobalt, an offender of human rights concerns. Environmentally, direct lithium extraction is a better method of mining lithium that shows potential in reducing environmental damage by using less water and leaving a smaller ecological footprint than traditional mining.